A pillar applique for use at a pillar area (e.g., A-pillar area) of a vehicle. The pillar applique includes a substrate portion and a thermoplastic elastomer portion. Each of the substrate portion (21) and the thermoplastic elastomer portion (23) are formed via injection molding in certain embodiments of the invention, and the thermoplastic elastomer portion may be injection molded over the substrate portion during its forming process (or vice versa) so that the two portions may be bonded to one another without the need for additional adhesive.
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1. A method of making a vehicle pillar appliqué for use on a vehicle, the method comprising:
a) injection molding one of: 1) a polymer inclusive substrate, and 2) a thermoplastic elastomer portion;
b) in a subsequent injection molding step, injection molding the other of 1) said polymer inclusive substrate, and 2) said thermoplastic elastomer portion, to the one injection molded in step a), in order to form the appliqué which includes the polymer inclusive substrate and the thermoplastic elastomer portion molded to each other;
c) selecting durometer values for the thermoplastic elastomer portion and the polymer inclusive substrate, so that the polymer inclusive substrate has a higher durometer and is less flexible than the thermoplastic elastomer portion; and
d) attaching the applique formed in b) to the vehicle proximate a pillar area thereof in a manner so that the polymer inclusive substrate of the appliqué includes an interior surface to be closest to a vehicle window and an exterior surface to be further from the window than is the interior surface, and wherein at least part of the interior surface of the polymer inclusive substrate is for facing a peripheral edge of the vehicle window and the thermoplastic elastomer portion is at least bonded to at least part of an interior surface of the polymer inclusive substrate facing the peripheral edge of the vehicle window so that the at least part of the thermoplastic elastomer portion is provided between the peripheral edge of the vehicle window and the interior surface of the polymer inclusive substrate.
2. The method of
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This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 10/785,196 filed Feb. 25, 2004 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,083,212, which is a divisional of 09/841,192 filed Apr. 25, 2001 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,740,390), the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in this application.
This invention relates an applique for a pillar area of a vehicle. More particular, this invention relates to a multi-component polymer based applique for an A-pillar area of a vehicle such as a car, pick-up truck, minivan, or sport utility vehicle (SUV).
An applique is a decorative member or cover which is fastened to a vehicle surface or structure to add styling, to functionally cover aesthetically non-pleasing portions of a vehicle, and/or to create a sort of weather seal. Conventional appliques are made of metal and/or plastic. For example, it is known to apply appliques over the external A-pillar areas of a vehicle. While the applique may be attached directly to the A-pillar itself, it is also possible to attach an A-pillar applique to door sheet metal or some other structure so that the applique is not directly contacting the pillar itself A pillar is known in the art as a structural member provided to support the structure of a vehicle.
Because of the high visibility of the A-pillar areas, appliques are commonly used to provide an aesthetically pleasing surface and/or seal on or proximate the A-pillar. Such appliques are used, for example, to cover manufacturing imperfections, create a seal adjacent the door and/or windshield, or the like.
Conventional A-pillar appliques typically include a substrate which supports a flexible thermoplastic elastomer. In making conventional A-pillar appliques, the thermoplastic elastomer portion of the applique is often co-extruded onto the metal substrate portion of the applique, with the co-extruded part thereafter being bent and/or cut into the desired shape. Unfortunately, this tends to be a very costly process.
Other conventional A-pillar appliques are manufactured by gluing the thermoplastic elastomer portion to the metal substrate using a separate adhesive layer. Unfortunately, such processes require the extra glue and/or adhesive, and sometimes tend to be messy and/or more costly.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that there exists a need for a more efficient and/or easy-to-manufacture applique for pillar areas (e.g., A-pillar areas) of a vehicle(s).
An object of this invention is to provide an applique for a pillar area of a vehicle. The applique may be used at A-pillar areas of the vehicle, or at other pillar areas of a vehicle in alternative embodiments.
Another object of this invention is to provide a pillar applique including first and second different polymer based materials, one injection molded to the other during the manufacturing process. Thus, a separate adhesive is not needed between the two polymer based materials of the pillar applique.
Another object of this invention is to provide a pillar applique including a substrate portion and a thermoplastic elastomer portion. Each of the substrate portion and the thermoplastic elastomer portion are formed via injection molding in certain embodiments of the invention, and the thermoplastic elastomer portion may be injection molded over the substrate portion during its forming process (or vice versa) so that the two portions may be bonded to one another without the need for additional adhesive.
Another object of this invention is to fulfill one or more of the above listed objects.
Generally speaking, certain example embodiments of this invention fulfill one or more of the above-listed needs by providing an applique for use at a pillar area of a vehicle, the applique comprising:
Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views.
A-pillar applique substrate 21 includes base portion 21a, projection 21b, and distal end portion 21c which supports elastomer portion 23. Projection 21b extends at an angle approximately perpendicular (i.e., perpendicular plus/minus 15 degrees) from base 21a. A large portion of base 21a is approximately flat or planar, while distal end portion 21c angles upwardly at an angle from about 1-40 degrees, more preferably from about 2-15 degrees, relative to base 21a. Thermoplastic elastomer portion 23 of the applique is supported by at least distal end 21c of the substrate 21. In particular, an approximately U-shaped end of elastomer portion 23 encompasses or fits around distal end 21c of applique substrate 21, so that the elastomer 23 is supported by the substrate 21. Thus, a portion of end 21c fits into a channel defined between the two legs of the U-shaped end portion 23a of the elastomer portion 23.
Elastomer portion 23 of the applique includes U-shaped connection portion 23a which is attached to substrate 21, flexible lip 23b which forms a water seal with the exterior surface of vehicle windshield 25, and curved body portion 23c. Curved body 23c of the applique elastomer portion 23 is located between and supports both flexible lip 23b and attachment portion 23a. Together, the interior sides/surfaces of portions 23a-23c form an approximately U-shaped cavity 28 on the side of the elastomer portion 23 facing the exterior surface of windshield 25.
Additionally, and still referring to
In preferred embodiments of this invention, applique substrate 21 (see
Because of the special materials selected for components 21 and 23 of the applique (see discussion above), the elastomer portion 23 may be molded directly to substrate 21 in step 43 without the need for additional adhesive therebetween (see step 45). Thereafter, the injection molded device is opened and the resulting applique is removed therefrom. The applique, including substrate 21 and thermoplastic elastomer portion 23, may then be installed on a vehicle at a pillar area (e.g., A-pillar area) as shown in any of
In certain preferred embodiments of this invention, substrate 21 and thermoplastic elastomer portion 23 are both polymer based, both formed via injection molding, but have different durometers. For example, elastomer portion 23 may have a durometer from about 70-90, while substrate portion 21 may have a higher durometer of, for example, at least 100. Thus, portions 2 is less hard and more flexible than substrate 21.
Once given the above disclosure, many other features, modifications, and improvements will become apparent to the skilled artisan. Such other features, modifications, and improvements are therefore considered to be a part of this invention, the scope of which is to be determined by the following claims.
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